


He Tripped On a Rock

by dorulean



Series: A Bouquet of Ultra-Mega Special Flowers [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Body Horror, Childhood Trauma, Dark Comedy, Disturbing Themes, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:53:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27489136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorulean/pseuds/dorulean
Summary: He had planned the father-daughter adventure of a lifetime.Travel to a secluded area of the region. Discover Pokemon of legend. Hike up the tallest mountain in the region.All this, with his darlin’ daughter.Everything was going well (not really) until he tripped on a rock.
Series: A Bouquet of Ultra-Mega Special Flowers [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2124411
Comments: 56
Kudos: 25





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Alright. Quick Note.
> 
> This idea came to me while playing through the CT (Remember that part in the Max Lair?) Originally, this was supposed to be a lot more lighthearted. It was just Peony getting on people’s nerves in the afterlife.
> 
> Then it got darker.
> 
> And darker.
> 
> And darker.
> 
> But still retained a somewhat comedic tone. 
> 
> I wrote a rough draft this summer of an original story that I plan on turning into a comic that has a dark tone, so I thought of this as practice for when I do the final draft. I know AO3 is mostly shippy stuff (I have my ships too, trust me) but I love my black coffee too. I get nervous telling these stories cause, uh...they’re pretty fucked up lol. SORRY!
> 
> I have 5 chapters planned. Short, sweet, flash fic.
> 
> *******  
> ANYWAY!  
> *******  
> PROCEED WITH CAUTION!  
> *******

He hustled down the tunnels of the Max Lair with caution as an afterthought.

“Papa’s comin’, Nia! Just you wait!”

His oversized backpack jingled, shuffled, and rattled. The rubber soles of his boots slapped against the ground. And his breath caught the offbeat of the rhythm of his steps.

“Are ya hidin’ from me? We haven’t played Hide ‘n’ Seek since you were, like, 4!”

The cave flooring gradually began to unsmooth. It started with pebbles and potholes, then grew into boulders and craters. Still, he paid no mind to his own caution. Or perhaps nothing signaled him to _be_ cautious in the first place.

“Your _favorite_ place to hide was behind rocks!”

The deeper he went into the cave, the harder it became to see. But the instinct of caution **still** didn’t kick in. Instead, he started to pick up speed. The rhythm of his feet began to tap in double time.

“Oho! You’re hiding behi--”

It happened faster than he could perceive it.

The front of his boot had a head-on collision with a rock the size of a Conkeldurr’s fist. His entire body was thrown into the air. In that moment, it was like the world went into a Trick Room. The speed of the physical world was cut in half as his body descended to the ground. But inside his head, moments of his life, even moments that he had repressed, zipped by. A Cufant. A heated argument. A gym title. A champion title. Another heated argument. A happy marriage. The birth of a child. A long taxi ride.

Then nothing. A dark void. Endless emptiness. A continuous blank.

* * *

His long-lashed, green eyes fluttered open like Butterfree wings. He ran a gloved hand down the dark skin of his forehead that was beating like a Rillaboom’s Belly Drum. He had no issue climbing back onto his feet, which even came as a surprise to him.

“Y-OUCH, that hurt!” he groaned. “Nia? Are ya-...wait a mo…”

He panned his eyes around the area he was in, and it looked _nothing_ like where he was seconds ago. At least it _felt_ like seconds ago. Wherever he was now, it felt high above the ground. The air smelled like high altitude. Small flakes of snow drifted down from the light gray mass of sky above. He couldn’t see up. He couldn’t see down. Left and right were equally indistinguishable. All he could make out was his orange winterproof clad body, and the rocky surface he stood on.

“Rise and shine, Peony.” a deep, fear-striking voice bellowed from all around.

Peony’s head jerked left and right in search of the voice. All he could see was foggy gray in every direction. “Nia? Are ya playin’ a prank on me? Ya can’t out-prank yer old man! You remember what happened the last time!”

“...What?” the voice questioned with confusion clear in its tone. “Maybe you hit your head a little too hard...”

“That voice is _really_ good!” Peony gleefully kudo’d what he presumed was his daughter. “But what about this?”--he tried to mimic the disembodied voice— _”I’m coming to steal your_ **_SOUL!”_ **It was actually a good attempt.

There was a brief silence from the voice. “Okay...who sent this guy to me, and how do I get rid of him?”

“You...didn’t like that?” Peony whimpered. “Well _excuuuuse_ me for not being able to sound like the spawn of Giratina!”

There was another brief silence from the voice. “Oh, Arceus, help me…” 

A dark gray blob poked through the confines of space, directly in front of Peony. It grew and grew, up until it was taller than the already tall Peony. A tubey but muscular arm bursted out of one side of the shadowous ball. Then, another arm followed, creating perfect symmetry. A squiggly tail-like appendage slithered out from the bottom of the ball. Finally, one last component poked out of the top. At the center of the top component, a radiant red and yellow sphere that could shake the soundest of souls.

It was a Dusknoir.

“Hello, Peony.” the Dusknoir spoke in the ominous voice from before. “You’ve met with a terrible fate haven-”

“HOLY MILTANK!” Peony shrieked. “You can talk?!”

The Dusknoir’s eyebrow, or representation of one, drooped downward. “Uh...yeah. Can you shut up? I’m trying to give a monologue and you’re completely ruining the atmosphere.”

“Have ya seen my daughter?” Peony asked with complete disregard for Dusknoir’s affrontive appeal. “She’s, like, two heads shorter than me, few shades lighter than me, curly blonde hair with pink on the—“

**“SILENCE!”** Dusknoir roared. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

Peony stared back like a blank notebook. “...I just told ya my daughter’s missing!”

Dusknoir clasped a large gripper over his glowing eye. “Peony. You’re dead.”

Peony’s face remained unscribbled. “I’m not dead! I’m talking to ya right now!”

Dusknoir balled his fists, shaking them at his side. “Be...CAUSE! Your soul is on its way to the afterlife, and this is the only way your psyche can comprehend it!”

There was not a single change to Peony’s blank stare. “...Nah, I don’t think I’m psychic. I like Steel-types more anyway. I actually used to be--“

“WHY WAS YOUR SOUL ASSIGNED TO _ME?!”_ Dusknoir cried.

Peony shrugged. “I dunno, Dusky. But I gotta get movin’! I got a daughter to find!”

“For the love of whatever you believe in, just let me speak!” Dusknoir ranted.

But Peony was already on the move. “I gotta get back to the place with the rocks!” he called from a hefty distance away.

“YOU! CAN’T! YOU! ARE! **DEAD!”**

Peony stopped. “I already told ya, ya oversized jack-o-lantern! I took a wrong turn, then, **poof,** mountaintop.”

Dusknoir’s belly gasped its mouth open. “Oversized... **JACK-O-LANTERN?!”** Dusknoir began to trail behind Peony. “At least I’m not dumb enough to trip over a rock and die! Imagine your epitaph! _Death by tripping over a rock!”_

“Imagine yours!” Peony fired back. “Death by...being a _dummy!_ And being dumb! How ‘bout that?”

“Your insults are on par with your intelligence!”

“Thanks!” Peony chuckled in a sudden change of demeanor. “They used to call me Comeback Peony in my uni years...or was that _me_ who called me that…? Y’know what? I think that was just me.”

Dusknoir took a deep breath from his eyehole, then exhaled through his belly mouth. “Let’s start this from the top again. While you were searching for your daughter, you had a bit of an _oopsie_ and tripped on a rock. When you landed, your head hit _another_ rock and it knocked you clean out. Unfortunately, you did not recover, which technically means your physical form is dead. Your mental form—“

“Hold up!” Rose slung his adventure bag over his shoulder and started digging through it like a Bunnelby using Dig. “You should totally pitch that to a studio. I know some people who could get your idea off the ground and put it on TV!”

“...Forget it…” Dusknoir sighed. “Eventually your mental form will weaken, allowing me to take you to the Gates of Judgement. Then, I’ll be **_rid_** of you.”

The entire time, Peony was scribbling as fast as he could in his notebook. “Can we add a romance subplot? _Ooo,_ a love triangle! Everybody loves a good love triangle!”

For the first time in his eternal life, Dusknoir felt defeated. Defeated by the man known as Peony. What a name for such a chaotic force. “I hate my job…”


	2. A King, A Castle, and a Missing Husband

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peony meets someone with a similar problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, stuff gets a little weird here. I don’t think anyone would’ve expected me to take the story in this direction, but here we are. I hope you enjoy it. 😗

“PEEEOOOONIIIIAAAA!” Peony called at the bright gray void. “I give up! You win! Can you come out, please?!”

“I told you already.” Dusknoir snickered. “You’re dead. You’re not gonna find her.”

**“HEY!”** Peony snapped. “There’s a whole lotta things I can’t do! But one thing I _CAN_ do is find my daughter!...And sew! I’m really good at sewing!”

Dusknoir replied with the iciest stare he could muster with little facial muscles.

As Peony trudged on, the gray fog started to clear up. Layer by layer, the fog lifted, revealing the space in front of him. It was a pathway. A pathway that was long and windy, like a Gigantimax Centiscorch’s body.

Dusknoir, astonished, darted his eye sphere back and forth. “How...is this possible?”

“See?” Peony said in a tone that taunted. “We’re on the right track!...Maybe!”

Dusknoir raised his hand to object, but quickly lowered it and bit his tongue.

Peony pressed forward down the rocky road. “Pe-o-ni-a” bellowed out of his mouth, full of bass, and echoed through the gray mass of fog. It was like his voice was slicing the layers of fog away. Dusknoir watched, confused as an Obstagoon with its head stuck in an empty cereal box. He was waiting for Peony to drop dead. Vomit. Trip. Spontaneously combust. **_Something._** But the man was still _very_ much alive. Well...his spirit was.

“Feeling queasy?” Dusknoir asked.

“No, heights don’t bother me.” Peony answered, assuming Dusknoir genuinely cared for his well-being.

“Anything...hurting? Headache? Carpal tunnel? Sudden soreness in your bowels?”

“Well, my head _was_ hurting. But that’s what usually happens when you hit your head.” Peony, still oblivious, answered.

“And it’s not hurting anymore?”

“Nope. I feel fine tuned like a Kricketune. You do know what a Kricketune is, right? They’re not in Galar, but they should be in Sinnoh. Like”—he gasped—“Dusknoir! Have ya ever been to Sinnoh? I climbed Mount Coronet last summer! I got attacked by an Abomasnow. I know you know what _those_ are.”

Dusknoir snarled under his breath. “Maybe if that Abomasnow **mauled** you to death, I wouldn’t be the one dealing with you...”

Peony’s ears twitched when a noise caught his attention. In the distance, long, haunting weeps fluttered through the air like Butterfree. When they landed on Peony’s ears, he stood straight up like a Magnezone receiving a signal.

**“NIAAAAAAA!”** he erupted.

Peony’s feet moved like a Boltund’s. Once again, safety was buried in the depths of his brain as he recklessly sprinted down the winding way.

“YOU DOLTISH DUMWAD!” Dusknoir yelled to the man. “This is exactly how you died! Have you learned nothing?!”

But Peony was making distance. The only thing his ears were interested in picking up were the cries of what he assumed to be his daughter. “HERE I COME NIAAAAA! HERE! I! **COOOOOME!!”**

The fog was basically all gone now. Peony could see clearly down the path. There was another mountain at the end of the trail with a cave opening. And right outside of the cave, a person sitting curled up in a ball. Peony’s feet froze like they were hit with a hacked out Ice Beam. He squinted, taking in each detail of this stranger.

This person had a literal crown of long hair, the same hue as a freshly-evolved Gengar. Their arms were a shade of brown _similar_ to a certain Peonia. They wore what looked like a red robe of some ancient civilization, decorated with patterns of golden flames. The voice wasn’t as deep as Peony’s, but it was deeper than Peonia’s. And that’s all that Peony cared about. It was not his darlin’ daughter.

“Hey!” Peony called out to the person. “Have ya seen a young lady come through here?! She looks like the sweetest thing to ever grace this planet! Ya literally can’t miss her!”

The stranger lifted their head, and looked back at Peony with golden, pupil-less eyes. “K-...Kibana?”

Peony’s legs unthawed from their stasis, and he was moving toward the person of mystery. “I have an entire album of pics dedicated to just her, if ya wanna get a better visual!”

The violet-maned man uncurled from the ball in which he sat, and rose to his two feet. “You’re not Kibana.”

Peony’s boots came to a rolling stop. “A kiba-who?” Peony then gave the man a long, analyzing look from the top of his head, to the nails of his exposed toes. “Aren’t you the current champ? Leo, was it? Leonard sounds about right.”

“L-Leonard?” the golden-eyed man said. “My name’s Dande, not Leonard. And you aren’t my husband!”

“I coulda sworn it was Leonard. Maybe Leony? That rhymes with Peony, so it’s gotta be that. Peony was the most popular baby name during my three and a half months as champion!”

Dande gave his head a light shake. “Nope. It’s Dande. Just Dande.”

“...Not even a last name?”

Dande bounced his shoulders. “No.”

“If ya say so!” Peony chortled, throwing his hands up in a devil-may-care manner. “I probably don’t need an introduction. Or did Galar already forget about”—his voice gained a dramatic flair— _“The Legendary Steel Peony?”_

“I...have no idea what you’re talking about…” Dande said. “But have you seen my husband? He was out with one of the Charmander, but he’s been gone for hours! He should’ve been back by now!”

_“Whaaat,_ that’s crazy! I can’t find my daughter! Now that ya mention it, this place is really hard to navigate...Do ya think my darlin’ daughter is…”—he clasped his hands over his face and gasped in horror—“ **LOST?!”**

Dande shrugged. “Perhaps. If you’re already looking for someone, would you mind looking for my husband, too?”

Peony brought a hand to his face and stroked his beard. “I could really use some goodie points right now. Especially after droppin’ my daughter’s toothbrush in the toilet. I just couldn’t bear tellin’ it to her face!” Peony chucked two thumbs up. “Ya got yourself a deal, Leony!”

“It’s...Dande…” the man sighed. “Please, just follow me inside.”

* * *

  
  


Dande led Peony into the nearby mountain. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary, nothing-too-special hole in the wall. But on the inside, it looked like a completely different world. Matter of fact, it **was** a completely different world. A bright blue, sunstruck, cloudless sky was visible. Lush green grass coating the ground, soft to the touch, soothing to the senses. The air smelled fresh and untouched by the outside world. And at the very center of it all, four towers and a base, forming a large, elegant castle out of orange bricks.

Oh, and there were Charmander everywhere.

No Charmeleon. No Charizard. _Just_ Charmander.

“Welcome to my kingdom!” Dande said with the welcoming flourish of his hand.

Peony’s eyes were plastered to the tall structure of royalty. “THEY GOT A WHOLE CASTLE IN HERE?!”

Dande chuckled. “Where else would we live? A cave?”

One of the wandering Charmander tottered up to Peony’s leg and pulled it. “Well, aren’t _you_ the cutest little Charmander I’ve ever seen!” Peony knelt down to give the Charmander a pet on the noggin.

“You are not my father.” the Charmander roared in a gruff, gravely, borderline demonic voice.

“SWEET MOTHER OF RAYQUAZA’S ARM HAIR!” Peony shrieked, jumping away from the _cute_ Pokemon before he shoved a size 12 boot in its mouth. “I think yer Charmander’s broken!”

“I wouldn’t say broken.” Dande laughed. “Charmy probably just likes you!”

“That thing just spoke to me like the son of Giratina! It is **broken.”**

Dande squatted down and cradled the Charmander that he dubbed Charmy in his arms like a newborn baby. “Nonsense! Say hello, Charmy!”

The same horror-movie sounding voice spilled from the Pokemon’s mouth. “Hell...o…”

Peony jumped further back. “HOW DO YOU NOT HEAR THAT THING?! IS THE POOR THING SICK?!”

Another swarm of Charmander were approaching, and Peony wanted nothing to do with the demon-speeched Fire-types. “How about we head into the castle, now?! I’m sure it's nicer in there! There’s probably air conditioning, all kinds of royal thingymabobs, less demon spawns—I mean...Charmander!” Peony frantically listed out.

“More of the children are coming over to greet you. Don’t you want to—”

Peony grabbed Dande by the arm and started running toward the castle. “I’m **good.** Let’s **go.”**

* * *

  
  


The castle interior was just as strange as the Charmander surrounding it. It was filled with nothing but pictures of Dande and what looked like Raihan, Galar’s dragon-type gym leader. No throne. No tables. No chairs. No couches. No furniture at all. Only long hallways with pictures that cluttered the walls like wallpaper.

“Where do you guys sit?” Peony bluntly asked. “Better yet, where do you eat? _What_ do you eat? I’m pretty sure they don’t deliver pizza way out here.”

Dande let out a humorous bark. “You’re such a character, Sir Legendary Steel Peony! The afterlife will suit you well!”

Peony was busy examining the pictures on the wall, straining his eyes to ensure his peepers weren’t deceiving him. “Isn’t that the dragon guy? Raymond? Er--...Rodin? Rayman? Sorry, I haven’t been keepin’ up with the league lately.”

Dande placed a finger over the man in question, in one of many pictures on the wall. “Him? That’s my husband, Kibana!”

“Whatever ya say!” Peony let it go, just like everything else, with a shoulder shrug.

“Kibana and I walk the Charmander every day. But today, he _insisted_ on going alone. He didn’t even take any of the other Charmander with him! How...unlike him!”

“Kinda reminds me of my daughter.” Peony added.

“We do _everything_ together! Literally everything! Why would he all of a sudden not want to do something with me?”

“Okay, that sounds exactly like my daughter.” Peony said with a look of parental concern. “You talkin’ ‘bout my daughter, buddy? Did ya kidnap her?” Peony put his fists up. “They used to call me Put ‘Em Up Peony! And no, it’s not a self-proclaimed nickname!”

Dande laughed. Oddly. “Oh, Sir Legendary Steel Peony. You really know how to cheer a guy up.” Dande completely disregarded Peony’s stance of offense. “Please find my husband. I’m begging you.”

Peony slowly let his guard down, but kept a skeptical glare on Dande. “Alright, King Dandy, I’ll be on the lookout for yer man. But there’s just one last thing I need to ask ya.”

“First of all, it’s **Dande.** Second, please, ask away!”

Peony put a hand over the middle of his pants. “Ya got a bathroom in this place? I usually try to use it before a long journey, and this one’s lookin’ like a long one.”

Dande raised an eyebrow. “A...bathroom?”

Peony looked _very_ confused. “Yeah...do you not have a bathroom in this place either?”

Dande’s face was unreadable. “Could you describe it?” And so was the tone of his voice.

Peony had to think on that one. How does one describe a bathroom without sounding like a Buzzwole from another dimension? “Have ya ever had a big, spicy bowl of curry, then washed it down with a 3 liter of soda pop? Where do ya go to get it out of your system?”

Somehow, that triggered a spark of understanding in Dande’s head. “Ohhh! Go all the way down this hallway, then make a left, then a right, then climb up the stairs, do a barrel roll, slay the dragon, park the car, and let it swim!”

Peony could only stare back at the violet-maned man. “Thanks!” he said with another thumbs-up. Then he trotted off down the hallway.

The hallway was long. _Uncomfortably_ long. Peony just kept walking, and walking, but the hallway wouldn’t stop. He turned around and saw Dande in the distance. A Durant-sized shape in the distance, the king, gave him a wave. And Peony waved back.

“Man…” Peony sighed to himself. “Living here must be a pain.”

Peony’s eyes moved back to the walls. Just like the hallway, the pictures on the wall were neverending as well. And there were no repeating photos either. Just various pictures of Dande and his husband Kibana over and over and over. It was slightly unsettling. And the further Peony walked down the hallway, he started to feel like eyes were on him. 

Because eyes _were_ on him. 

The pictures on the wall went from fun selfies with various angles, to front-facing, deadpan portraits. To make matters even worse, there were _still_ no repeating pictures.

Peony realized just how much the halls were getting to him when he jumped back after feeling something under his boot. It was an orange piece of...something. Peony _thought_ he had offed one of the demon baby Charmanders, but fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, there were no red fluids on his brown boots. The man picked the orange piece-of-something up and twisted it around in his hands. It was stretchy. It was soft. It was in the shape of a ring. A headband, maybe?

“No furniture, but they leave their underwear on the floor? Tch!” Peony tossed the orange material over his shoulder.

He turned around again to look down the endless hallway. It was indeed endless. He couldn’t see the point of which he started anymore. The feeling of danger was _really_ starting to set in now.

After what felt like an eternity, there was finally a change in the pathway. A three-way fork in the road. He could go left, right, or forward.

Even though Peony was a bit distracted at times, his memory was a steel trap. That is, when he actually stored things in said steel trap. He had the time he ate a truckload of spicy curry, a detailed playback of a violent argument he had with his brother, the passcode to his daughter’s phone that he _accidentally_ saw along with all of her text messages, every nasty nickname given to put him down from childhood, an encyclopedia about every single known legendary Pokemon from A-Z, the beating he took to join Team Skull, and, most importantly, the directions King Dande gave him.

“Left!” Peony announced.

And to the left he went. But he didn’t see another pathway. Just a short hallway with a box at the end of it. Peony being Peony, he thought it’d be a good idea to open the box. Inside the box, he found a uniform from Hammerlocke’s gym, a strange looking navy jacket with teeth studs around the hood, and a dead Rotom phone.

“Whoever they hired to design this place needs to be fired.” Then Peony boxed up the clothes once again. “Maybe he meant go to the right?”

Peony tried to backtrack, but the path he took was now a wall.

“What the…” He put his hands on the picture-covered wall, feeling for a...secret switch maybe? “Hey, uh, King Dandy? Yer castle’s moving. Is it supposed to do that?”

Peony turned back around, and the box was gone. _And_ he was boxed in. All around him were cold stares from the petrifying portraits of Dande and Kibana.

“Hey, Dandy!” Peony knocked against a photo of Dande. “I’m kinda stuck in here! Mind givin’ me a hand?” He stopped knocking for a moment to hear if Dande would respond. But he heard nothing. **“HEY!”** Peony yelled, and knocked even harder.

The shock from his fist knocked down a picture of Raihan. The photo shattered, shards scattered across the ground, and a puff of dark, blobby gray smoke rose from the broken frame.

“I’ve been in some pretty tight spots before, but I can’t even get outta this one!” Peony was borderline assaulting the wall at this point.

More pictures fell off of the wall, each of them shattering as soon as they hit the floor. And just like the first photo, the ominous smoke puffed out of each of them. Peony didn’t notice the smoke at first, but after a dozen photos, Peony was having a hard time breathing.

**“Hey, Dandy!”** Peony bellowed. **“I think there’s a fire somewhere in the castle and I’m stuck, lemme out!”**

When Dande didn’t answer this time, Peony knew that he was on his own. As he said, tight spots were nothing new for him. And with desperate times come desperate measures.

Peony switched his fist out for his boot. He dented the wall with a single kick. A dozen pictures fell off of the wall at once, and a blob of gray filled the room. The gray mass made it even harder to breath, but he couldn’t stop now. He threw another kick, and another dent appeared. Half of the pictures in the room all fell at once, absorbing the room in dark gray. Holding his breath, Peony threw one last kick, and broke a hole in the wall. Finally, he jabbed his entire leg through the hole and fell to the other side.

He panted on the floor, taking in as much fresh air as he could. ”What...the heck was that...?”

After Peony’s lungs had recovered, rather quickly too, he noticed he was in another hallway. The photos on the wall were now all close-ups of Dande and Kibana’s eyes. Each pupil had a yellowish red tint to it. To make things **even more** confusing, there was another box at Peony’s feet. It was identical to the last one in shape, size, and color.

Peony gave it a glare then picked it up. “This better be the boss key to get outta here, ‘cause this place feels like a dungeon!”

But he was wrong. **So** wrong.

Inside the box, he found a pile of hard, off-white objects. The first object he pulled out looked like a bone you’d see a Marowak wield. The second object though...looked more human. If Peony’s high school-level biology knowledge served him right, he was holding a pelvis. Peony, somehow, brushed that off too. But the last thing he pulled out of the box was what gave him the proper scare he should’ve had 1000 steps ago.

A skull. A **human** skull.

“What are you doing?”

Peony jumped up and shrieked like a small child. But it was just Dande. **“YOU SCARED ME HALF TO DEATH! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! DIDN’T YA HEAR ME SCREAMING FOR YA?!”**

“Sorry about that!” Dande chuckled and dismissed Peony’s rage. “What do you have there? Let me see!”

Peony **gladly** moved out of the way. “Hey, guy. I think ya gave me the wrong directions, ‘cause there’s no bathroom in the place! And I’m pretty sure this place is haunted.”

Dande’s face lit up like a Lanturn when he saw the box of bones. “My husband!” He squealed with...joy? “You found him! How can I ever thank you?!”

“...What…”

Dande, with no hesitation **at all,** pulled the skull out of the box. “He’s looking a bit unwell. Maybe I should get him to bed.”

Peony had no words. Not a single word could express what was on his mind in that moment. “Can you please just direct me to the exit now. I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“Would you like some medicine? We have—“

“NOPE!” Peony interrupted. “I. WANT. **OUT!”**

Dande gave him a look of complete blankness. “If you say so! Thank you again for finding my husband!” 

Dande puppeted the skull’s mouth. “Yeah, thank you, Sir Legendary Steel Peony!” But the voice that came out of the skull sounded nothing like Dande. It sounded more like the Charmander from earlier.

And with that, Peony took off running down the hall like he was in the Pokeathlon.


	3. Lord of the Scorching Sands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peony meets an old friend after crash landing on a beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this became a lot longer than I intended and even has an extra chapter lmao. I’m kinda invested.
> 
> Some of the craziness is explained here, but then the chaos goes from a 30 to 65. I already know some people are looking at this fic like “wtf” 😂 Just riiide this thing out.

He thought here was a good place to stop. He didn’t hear Dande anymore. He didn’t see anymore pictures staring into his soul. And the constraining hallways were suddenly gone.

“Ho...ly...udders of Miltank…” Peony panted. “What…was...that...?”

Peony’s mouth fell open when he looked at the setting in front of him. The view from where he stood was glorious. Multiple mountains poked out of the earth in such a way that almost looked calculated. Their shape, size, height, width, all aligned beautifully with the landscape. Clusters of trees gave life to the land. Some were as green as a summertime Torterra, others yellow like a purebred Pikachu, and some possessed leaves as red as the cap of a Vileplume. A wide, lengthy river divided the land. The water wavelessly carried its liquid into the vanishing point of the sun-graced horizon.

“Man…” Peony said with a hand umbrellaing his eyes. “I’m _really_ deep in this cave.”

“You _still_ don’t think you’re dead?” said a familiar, frightening voice from behind Peony.

Peony jumped and readied his fists. **“WHEW** , it’s just you, Dusknoir.” he lowered his fists. “I thought ya ditched me.”

“I wish I could…” Dusknoir groaned. “But I was assigned to escort your soul to the gates.”

Peony ignored Dusknoir’s morbid statement. “Dude! These caves are weird! Ultra- **mega** weird! You shoulda been there! There were Charmander that sounded...kinda like you actually, and there was a guy who looked like Leony, but it wasn’t Leony, and he had a castle and stuff with death traps, and his husband was bones! HE WAS BONES, DUSKY! **BONES!”**

Dusknoir rolled his eye. “And you don’t think anything is weird about that?”

Peony shook his head. “Sure, it was scary. But I’ve seen weirder things happen. I was on the Isle of Armor last month, and I got eaten by a Wailord.”

“...That’s it?”

“Have _you_ ever been eaten by a Wailord? Now **_that_ ** was ultra-mega weird.”

“...No.”

Peony held a pointed finger at Dusknoir’s eyehole. “Then get back to me on that when ya do!”

Dusknoir batted the finger away. “You mean to tell me you don’t find literal symbols of **death** scary?!”

“Symbols of death, thimbles with bad breath!” Peony said with a victorious smile.

“I hope you know that I think you’re stupid…” Dusknoir grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Peony adjusted his bag on his shoulders. “Let’s get going before the sun sets, k? My darlin’ daughter wasn't in there, and I want **nothing** to do with Dandy. Plus, she forgot her coat. She’ll catch a cold in here.”

Dusknoir watched in furied silence as Peony slid down the mountainous slopes. “I’m going to enjoy watching you kick the bucket…”

* * *

When Peony reached the ground, he hurried over to the river. He dipped a hand into the moving water, feeling the gentle push of the water against his palm. “Yup…” he said in deep thought. “This water...is moving…” he brought his wet palm to his face and licked it. “And it tastes...wet...What do you think, Dusknoir?”

Dusknoir, internally questioning why he was still there, rolled his glowing eye. “I already told you. I think you’re stupid. **Ultra-mega** stupid.”

Peony rolled his eyes right back at him. “Yeah? Well, I think you’re **ultra-mega** _ugly_. Times 10!”

Another insult was hot on Dusknoir’s tongue, but what was the point? “Ugh, why isn’t your soul weakening? You should be completely dead by now!”

“Are you still running with that story? If I’m dead, how am I touching the water?” He dipped his hand back in the water for demonstration.

Dusknoir yanked at his spherical antenna to keep himself from Shadow Punching the man’s teeth out. “I’ll explain it again. This time... **pay attention.”** Dusknoir cleared his throat. “Right now, your soul is in a purgatory-esque state, and the only way your psyche can rationalize any sort of external influence is with memories and emotions of your own. Notice how King Dande looked a lot like the champion whose name you always forget? Even the problem he had was very—”

**_SPLASH!_ **

As usual, throwing care to the wind, Peony dove head first into the river. “If my calculations are correct, we should find a waterfall at the end of this river! After a dramatic near-death fall, I’ll just barely miss the jagged rocks, and discover a new area inhabited by warriors who will lead me to my daughter! Let’s gooooo!”

Dusknoir chased the water-moving man, floating beside the river. “HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU COME TO SUCH A NONSENSICAL CONCLUSION?!”

“It always happens in movies!” Peony called from the water. 

“Stop making me chase after you, you ultra-mega imbecile!” Dusknoir quickly covered his face in shame. “NOW I’M SAYING IT!”

“You’re the worst Dusknoir butler ever!” Peony made a rather rude gesture with his hand. “All you do is talk trash and complain!”

**“YOU’RE NOT MY TRAINER, AND I’M NOT YOUR BUTLER!”**

“Then why do you keep following me, huh?!”

**“BECAUSE I NEED YOUR SOUL, AND YOU WON’T FALL OVER AND DIIIIE!”**

Whatever **butler!”** Peony said with full offense. “Here I come, Nia! Here comes Papaaaa!”

* * *

Around a mountain. Over a canyon. Through a tree. Under the ground. Upside down. Inside out. This river did _not_ abide by the laws of physics, unsurprisingly fitting. The rushing waterway was cut off suddenly, and Peony was catapulted face-first into a, soft, sandy surface. He picked his face up from the sand and took in his surroundings. He was on a beach now. The only remaining remnant of the river was an endless sea, along with a sandy shore that stretched just as far.

“Where am I now?” he asked. Wherever he turned, the only thing he saw was horizon. Not a sign of human life. Not a change in elevation. Flat, endless horizon. “Well, I was wrong about the waterfall.” Peony said with a frown. “At least that ultra-mega stupid Dusk-butler is gone again. Takin’ my catchphrase and everything...”

**“Trespasser!”** a new voice shouted.

Five mounds of living sand towers were in each direction of the green-eyed man. They were Sandygast. Normally, they would have a shovel-like appendage at the tops of their heads. But instead, they carried sharp, sword-like objects.

“How dare you trespass in our domain!” one Sandygast said.

“Yeah, this is our home!” said another.

“We don’t take lightly to intruders.” said a third.

“The last bloke who rolled through here didn’t leave...at all!” the next said.

“Any last words?” asked the last one.

Peony stared, wide-eyed and blown away. “Can _all_ the Pokemon talk in here?!”

“Shut that mouth of yours, **trespasser!”** the first Sandygast spat. “We’ll ask the questions here!”

Peony took note of the daggers atop of each of the Sandygast. “Are you guys warriors? Does that mean you know where my daughter is? Please tell me you know where my daughter is!”

The Sandygast gang swapped indiscernible looks with each other. **“TAKE HIM TO OUR LORD!”** they all screamed in sync.

The Sandygast gang circled Peony, gaining speed with each rotation. Peony tried to get up, but the ground beneath him started to sink by the time he was back on his feet.

“Alright, I won’t hit a Pokemon, but I’m always down for a battle! Let’s go, Copperajah!’ Peony reached to his side, and there was no ball holster. He frantically patted his pants pockets, the sides of his bag, even his shoes. But there were no Poke Balls. “You don’t scare me, SAND!” he shouted, but he was quickly silenced by a gust of sand going down his throat.

* * *

  
  


The fall from the surface was a lot less painful than Peony expected. The only real damage was slight fatigue, sand in his boots, and a sandy throat. When the Sandygast gang’s spinning slowed, and the flying sand settled, _another_ castle greeted the Galarian man. This one was, fittingly, in the shape of a Palossand.

“Are castles just a dime a dozen down here?!” Peony asked. “Who built these things?!”

“Quiet, you!” one of the Sandygast griped. “You’re staying here until our Lord comes and deals with you!”

Peony rolled his eyes. “I didn’t even mean to come here! How about you **not** make your territory at the end of a river, yeah?”

“I said **QUIET!”** the Sandygast barked like an Arcanine. “Show some respect, for our lord will be here momentarily.”

Peony continued to ignore the sand mounds’ wishes. “Lemme guess...is it a man-eating Palossand?”

A sharp blast of trumpets sounded off from the castle. A pitchy choir of Arcanine, Ninetails, and Torkoal all sang along to the invisible trumpets, creating a pitchy harmony. Then, the loud boom of invisible drums, possibly from a Rillaboom, pulsed through the area, adding the final layer of discomfort onto the melody. After each count, the _mouth_ of the Palossand castle lowered little by little.

“Your lord sure knows how to make an entrance.” Peony side-commented.

**“I SAID QUIET!”** the Sandygast lowered its head knife. “I’ll cut you! You wanna get cut! I’ll do it, I swear!”

“Woah, there!” Peony raised his hands like he had a laser on his forehead. “Cool your Clamperl, sand pile.”

A long Centiskorch slinked out of the crowd, holding a scroll of paper in hand. “Lend your ears, fellow Kabuinians!” The Centiskorch spoke. “An unforeseen event has caused our Lord and leader to grace us with his excellence once more. And by us, I mean you, because I’m his favorite, you heathens! Anyways, Ledyba and Garbador! Boltund and Garchomp! I’m pleased to introduce to you once again...our Lord!”

Donning a long red toga, a crown made from what looked like coal, sitting atop short gray hair parted and slicked back, belonging to a stern face that held no welcome, connected to an athletic build, a man exited the Palossand mouth.

Every Pokemon, including the Sandygast gang lowered their heads. The man slowly strolled down the straight pathway connecting the castle and Peony. His stern gaze intensified with each step.

**“WHO HAS COME TO DECLARE WAR WITH KABU, LORD OF THE SCORCHING SANDS!”** the man quite literally roared.

“Kabu?!” Peony felt a spark of hope surge through his veins. “Kabu! Hey, Kabu! It’s me, Peony! Remember me?! We were, like, best friends in the league!”

Kabu took notice of Peony, then guffawed like a madman. “WHAT HAVE YOU BROUGHT ME NOW, SANDYGAST?! THIS CREATURE DOESN’T LOOK WORTH MY TIME!”

Peony raised an eyebrow and frowned. “...What? Kabu, what’re ya…”

“And look at that **_ridiculous_ ** outfit! What’s he here to do? Explore every possibility of **failure!”**

Kabu and all the Pokemon burst into laughter. Laughter that struck a nerve in Peony that he forgot he even had.

“But...Kabu…” It was the first time Peony was legitimately offended. By a friend of all people.

“And that stupid beard!” Kabu pointed. “It doesn’t even connect to his bottom lip!”

Now _that_ was a dumb insult. But the laughter was what was getting to Peony. He was being laughed **at.** Demeaned. Disrespected. Degraded.

“So about this war?” Peony said, all remnants of his happy-go-lucky demeanor disappearing. “If ya wanna fight, I’ll fight.”

For a moment, Kabu’s serious stare had returned. But it quickly vanished with another boisterous, disrespectful guffaw. “The weakling has jokes too? Maybe I should keep you around and appoint you as court jester!”

Peony lunged forward, but was stopped by a Sandygast. “Are you gonna talk or fight me?!” Peony growled. “Coward!”

A clear blow to Kabu’s ego. But he covered it with a chuckle. “Sandygast.” Kabu snapped his fingers. “Take him to the coliseum dungeon. I want to rip him apart.” Kabu turned on his heel, then started back toward his castle.

“Where ya runnin’ to, punk?!” Peony shouted. “Scared that Steel Peony will drag you by your toga!”

Kabu shook his head and smacked his tongue. “It will be most enjoyable watching you fall.”

“GET BACK HERE!” Peony lunged forward again. And again, Sandygast stopped him.

“Alright, gang!” one Sandygast said. “Let’s get in formation!”

The Sandygast began to circle again, kicking up sand with each cycle.

Peony put his hat over his face. “I just wanna find my daughterrrr!”

* * *

In a _very_ uncomfortable transport, the Sandygast tossed Peony inside of a large cage. The bars, a grungy shade of rust, were loose and clearly aged. The entire place smelled of dampness and danger. Debris of old wood and dust fell from the ceiling as a loud roar could be heard just outside of the dungeon’s entrance.

“And you’ll stay in here until our Lord is ready!” one of the Sandygast snapped.

“Oh, shut up already, you literal sand hill!” Peony snapped back. “Don’t make me pour a bucket of water on you!”

The Sandygast laughed. “Nice try, but my water compaction makes me immune to it!”

“No, it doesn’t.” another one of the Sandygast said. “It just makes your body more solid.”

“Why’d you have to go and say that!” the alleged water-immue Sandygast berated the other. “Now he’s gonna turn me into a sand puddle!”

The not-so-water-immune Sandygast went running down the hallway to the dungeon’s entrance and the other Sandygast followed.

“I never thought I’d be in a place like this again…” Peony gripped the front of his face with his gloved hand. “This is ridiculous. I need to find my daughter as soon as possible so we can leave and **never** come back to this crazy place.”

“Wish I could get outta here.”

Peony hadn’t even noticed the other cell beside his. Sitting inside, a man with frizzy white hair and fair skin. He wore a black short-sleeve jacket, black baggy pants, and had a purple tattoo coiling around his wrist. The most eye catching trait of this man though was his jewelry. And odd pair of golden glasses resting on his forehead, a golden watch that looked rather expensive, and an enormous chain that hung to his stomach.

That chain gave Peony a flashback he suppressed as quickly as it came. “Please, please, **please** tell me you don’t recognize me either.” he said with his fingers crossed.

The white-haired man looked confused. “You look familiar. Where’d we meet?”

“We met…” Peony shuffled through his brain bank for a half-truth. “In high school! Yeah. You were my old friend, Guzma, who was _not_ the leader of a gang I joined. Nope. Just a good old friend who...was a friend.”

Guzma looked as though he was processing this like it was new information to him. “Are you _sure_ that’s where we met?”

“Yes!” Peony was quick to answer. “You were a friend, and...you fought a bully for me!”

“Did I?” Guzma asked, leaning in as far as the chains around his legs would allow.

“Yeeeeah…” Peony gave Guzma a skeptical glare. “You don’t remember that?”

Guzma bobbed his head back and forth, recalling the totally not-made-up events that Peony had mentioned. “I...do!”

Peony clasped his hands together and silently thanked Arceus. “So... **friend.** What brings you to a grimy place like this?”

“Don’tcha know what this place is?” Guzma asked.

Peony took a moment to look around. “Uhhh...it looks like a dungeon to me.”

“Not just any dungeon, **friend.”** The last word sounded way too forced. “This is the waiting room.”

“Waiting room for what?”

“Your deathmatch!”

Peony let out a long groan. “Fake Kabu was serious?!”

Before Guzma could answer, one of the Sandygast popped back into the dungeon. “Our Lord is ready for you, trespasser!” The Sandygast tossed its head-dagger up at the cell’s lock and broke it off. **“Follow!** Or that’ll be your **head!”**

Peony would much rather not have his head cut like lettuce. He exited his cell and took a deep breath to calm his heating nerves. But it wasn’t working as he’d hoped. He quietly followed the Sandygast.

“Good luck out there!” Guzma called from his cell. “Beat him down, friend! Beat him down and don’t let up!”

Beat him down and don’t let up. Words Peony never wanted to hear again, were now being used as his motivational mantra to get out of this situation.

* * *

  
  


The coliseum was huge, ovalar in shape, and had seats all around the perimeter. It looked almost identical to the battling fields of Galar. But he didn’t have his trusty Aggron. He didn’t have his Gigantamax Copperajah either. This time, _he_ was the Pokemon. 

Screams, cheers, roars in every direction, all coming from an audience of Fire-type Pokemon.

“Snap his neck, my Lord!” one voice shouted over the crowd.

“Fire Punch his teeth out!” another voice flew.

“Then we can boil him in oil for disturbing our kingdom!” a third screamed.

From the other side of the coliseum, Kabu strolled across the sand. His posture was loose, like he had no worry in the world. “Are you ready to meet your demise, weakling?!” Kabu called from across the stadium.

Peony brushed the sand off of his coat, then started strolling at the same pace, in the same manner as Kabu. “So this really is some kinda gladiator match?”

Kabu smirked. “Something along those lines.” Kabu ripped off his toga and tossed it into the crowd. His body was **ripped.** His biceps were as big as his head, his 6-pack abs looked like carved stone, and his calves were straight up Tauros. “No weapons. Only fists.”

Peony had a hint of fear in his heart, but he knew losing wasn’t an option. The Galarian man dropped his bag and threw his hat and coat off to the side, now in a red turtleneck thermal. Peony’s body wasn’t anything to Cubchoo at either. Working with Steel-types, exploring caves, climbing mountains, all kept him in good shape. But Kabu’s body looked unrealistically buff in comparison.

“Was that supposed to be intimidating?” Kabu scoffed. “Do you think you’re an Incineroar with that red sweater?”

Peony didn’t have a response. Not a verbal one. He put up his fists in a stance comparable to a Hitmonchan.

“You truly do…” And Kabu took a stance comparable to a Hitmonlee.

From a stand on the sidelines, a Magmortar stood with a cannon held high. The sizzling of an impending Flame Burst faintly reached Peony’s ears. Both fighters watched the Pokemon’s smoking cannon to signal off. Then it happened.

**BOOM!**

**“FIGHT!”** the Magmortar bellowed.

Before Peony’s brain could even catch up with what was going on, Kabu’s foot connected with his jaw, sending him rolling across the stadium.

“One kick?” Kabu asked in a snide chuckle. “All Howl, no Bite!”

Peony’s head was spinning from the hit, and his mouth was full of sand. He got back up, although he had tangled feet. “It’s gonna take more than a sucker kick to...”—Peony teetered—”keep me down!”

Kabu laughed from the bottom of his stomach. “Are you sure about that, weakling?! You look a bit disoriented!”

Still wobbly, Peony resumed his Hitmonchan stance.

Likewise, Kabu resumed his Hitmonlee stance. “I’m going to enjoy watching you kick the bucket!”

Kabu was _fast._ And agile. The way he moved back and forth while still going forward had Peony’s eyes bouncing like Spoinks. Then, his foot came flying again. Peony dodged the flying foot with only a millisecond window. But what followed wasn’t a punch. Nor a kick. Not even a slap.

Peony grabbed Kabu by the head, then chomped into his neck like a rabid Zubat.

Kabu screamed like his heart was ripped out of his chest. **“GET OFF OF ME, YOU PSYCHO!”**

But Peony only bit down harder. He even added a feral growl for dramatic effect.

Kabu tried punching, elbow, even kneeing Peony off of him, but the green-eyed man wasn’t budging. **“CHEAP TACTICS CAN’T STOP ME, YOU WEAK LITTLE FLOWER!”**

Peony’s bite loosened at the insult, but he kept his teeth firm in Kabu’s neck flesh.

**“FLOWER BOY, FLOWER BOY, FLOWER BOY!”** Kabu almost sounded like a small child teasing. **“YOU’RE SO WEAK! WEAK! WEAK!** **_WEAK!”_ **

That last nerve he had was struck like a high-voltage Thunderbolt. Peony’s teeth were replaced with his gloved palms. “Don’t you **ever** call me that!” he growled through his teeth. “My name is Peony, and that’s what you’ll address me as. **Got it?!”**

Another taunting laugh squeaked out of Kabu’s compressed airway. “Weak...little...flow…” His eyes were red and veiny, but the look of superiority, arrogance, and hubris was still there.

Peony’s arms began to shake. He hadn’t felt this feeling in years. Maybe even a couple decades. 

Out of the blue, the Magmortar who commenced the fight body slammed Peony onto the ground and pinned him down. “Enough! If this continues, you’ll kill him!”

“THAT’S THE POINT, IT’S A DEATHMATCH!” Peony yelled. He flailed under the Magmortar, attacking with a series of weak elbows and knees. **“GET OFFA ME SO I CAN** **_KILL_ ** **HIM!”**

Magmortar put an extra pound of weight down. “It is my duty to protect our Lord. And you are a threat!”

“Oh, so _now_ I’m a threat? I thought I was just a **WEAK FLOWER!”**

The Centiskorch from the entrance ceremony slithered out of the crowd and helped the out-of-breath Kabu up from the ground. “My Lord! Are you alright?!”

Kabu coughed and wheezed. “I...want him out... **GET HIM OUT OF MY DOMAIN! THIS INSTANT”**

“You got it sir!” the Sandygast gang, suddenly returned, affirmed in unison.

The Magmortar picked Peony up from the ground, and tossed him into the center of the Sandygast. The Sandygast, again, began to swirl around at lightning speed. Instead of sinking though, a geyser of sand started shooting from the ground.

“Beware, Peony!” Kabu shouted up to the elevating man. “The road ahead of you”—Kabu’s voice turned to a deep, ghoulish, and familiar tone—”is paved with perils!”

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, yet he felt no heat. His bag was gone, along with his coat and hat. He couldn’t tell if the endless sea had disappeared, or if he was pushed further into the endless desert. It didn’t matter though. 

He managed to stand up, but he felt a lot weaker. Like he had been Giga Drained by a Roserade. Still, he had to keep moving. But where was he even going anymore? And why? It didn’t matter. He brushed himself off, then started walking into the sandy void.

And what followed was a layer of fog.


	4. What Are You Willing To Give?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, some recognizes Peony and aids him in finding his ultra-mega darlin’ daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEW!
> 
> I put effort into this one! Sometimes I feel like if I put too much effort into fics, I’ll run outta original ideas, but at the same time, I’m technically always improving and coming up with new things? This is a practice of sorts anyway, so...no biggie!
> 
> I wanna have the last two chapters posted by Sunday, but we’ll see how that goes! Be prepared for this chapter!

It was like he was under the spell of a Hypno. He felt nothing. He saw nothing. He remembered nothing. But his feet moved forward. As he trudged through the sunbaked sand, the ground below him became brighter in color. And with each step, there was a muffled crunch. It was the first sound he had heard since he was sand-geysered out of Lord Kabu’s kingdom. The  _ crunch _ of his feet finally hit his brain, and his eyes looked like they had just downed a Full Restore.

“When did I…” Peony muttered.

Just like in the scorching sun, he felt no change in temperature, despite wearing less layers than he started with. He saw his breath dispel from his nostrils with each breath, but couldn’t feel the effects of the frigid climate. But to him, it was just more nonsense in a place where nonsense was law.

“Where the heck am I now?” Peony asked himself. “There’s no road! I can  _ barely _ see anything! There’s sand in my boot  **again!”** Peony stomped his boot into the snow.  **“I just wanna find my daughter and get outta this crazy place!”**

“Gordie?!” another new voice called from within the snowland. “Gordie, I’m sorry! Please, come back! We can talk about it if you want!”

“I know that voice…” Peony mouthed. “Melony?! Melony, is that you?!  **_Please_ ** just be good ol’ Melony and not some evil clone who wants my head on a stick and set on fire!”

The voice had a brief moment of silence. “G-Gordie?”

Peony crossed his fingers. “No, it’s Peony! Former Steel-type gym leader? Brief champion? One-time supermodel with a 4-page spread?”

From over a snow hill, a short, round woman, riding in a sleigh pulled by two Walrein, her hair voluptuous and pale as the snow on the ground, her eyes blue like a winter lake, appeared. “Hey there, Peony!” she waved her arms. “Long time no see!”

The fog was getting thicker, but Peony could make out Melony’s silhouette. He looked around to make sure there wasn’t an evil clone of himself standing nearby. “Ya mean...ya recognize me?!”

“Of course!” Melony chimed. “Why wouldn’t I recognize an old friend?”

A tear welled up in Peony’s eyes. “Thank, Arceus! Finally, something that makes sense!”

Melony’s Walrein belly-slided down the hill to Peony. “Hop in, friend!” one Walrein said.

“There’s plenty of room in here for you!” said the other.

“Of course...the Pokemon can talk…” Peony muttered to himself.

* * *

  
  


Melony and Peony slid across the frozen snow field in the sleigh. There was something familiar about this scenario with the fog and tall hill-shaped landforms. But Peony didn’t dwell on it. He couldn’t dwell on it. There was too much beaming through his head.

“I have so much to tell you!” Peony said with a sigh that exuded  _ some  _ relief. “This place is like another dimension! Everything’s all ultra-mega weird and wonky! I don’t understand anything anymore!”

“Oh, I’m in the same boat!” Melony agreed. “Everything was going normal for me too. But after having a big fight with Gordie, it’s just endless snow!”

“Wait...Did ya go into the Max Lair, too?”

“The Max-who?”

“Oh, nevermind. I just need to find my daughter and get outta here.”

“Hmm...Maybe our kids are together?”

Peony shrugged. “I’m willing to believe anything at this point. I’m just so worried about Nia being in a place like this. What if she got stuck in a gladiator match like I did?!”

“With Kabu?”

_ “Yeees!”  _ Peony nearly jumped out of his seat. “Did he try to fight you too?!”

Melony’s eyes shifted away from Peony. “Uh...yeah! I was so scared! I just barely managed to escape!”

“Okay, I have a theory…” Peony reached for his bag. When his hand felt nothing but air behind him, he remembered exactly where the missing bag was. “...Anyways...I think Kabu might have a, get this,  **long lost twin!”**

Melony brought a hand to her lips to conceal a giggle. “That’s, teehee, a bit ridiculous, don’tcha think?”

“Well, what else  **could** it be?!” Peony shouted. “He looked like Kabu, sounded like Kabu, even acted a bit like Kabu, but didn’t recognize me!”

Melony shrugged and gave her front hanging strand of hair a flick. “Who knows? You could be right.”

Peony gave his theory another quick thought. “Maybe Kabu is brainwashed? I...I just don’t know...and, ugh, my head is starting to hurt again.”

“You probably need some rest after all you’ve been through. We’re almost to the safehouse!”

“You have a safehouse?” Peony asked with stern, furrowed brows. “In these caves?”

Melony’s eyes darted away from Peony again. “Why, yes I do! Is that...strange?”

Peony couldn’t press Melony. She was such a sweet soul. “Try asking me that  _ after _ we get outta this place.”

* * *

  
  


The Walrein pulled up to a small house that magically appeared in the middle of the stretching snow field. The house looked like it could only fit two people, perfect for a mother and her son. The roof was made of gray bricks, and the exterior was as white as the snow on the ground, almost camouflaging into the environment.

Peony stared up at the slow-moving, white gas oozing out of the chimney. “What a cute lil’ house!”

“Thank you!” Melony said with a blush. “Hurry inside! It’s  _ freezing _ out here!”

“Actually, I don’t feel—” Melony was already gone. “Cold...I don’t feel cold…” Peony sighed with sharpness, then headed in behind the Ice-type gym leader.

The inside of the house housed only a kitchen, and an unseen room divided by a door made of dark brown wood. There was a round wooden table, two wooden chairs on either side, a sink, a range, a countertop, cabinets above it, and a refrigerator. It looked eerily similar to the cabin Peony rented. But smaller. A  _ lot _ smaller.

“Have a seat!” Melony insisted. “Have some hot chocolate to warm up!”

Peony hadn’t even noticed the coffeemaker on the countertop. As he said before, he wasn’t cold, but knew Melony was just being...Melony. “Heh, thanks, Melony. Sweet as always.”

Melony made a cup almost instantly, set the mug of hot brown liquid in front of Peony, then sat across from him with her own mug in hand. “So, what’s on your mind?”

Peony looked down at the hot chocolate. He stared into it as he spoke. “Too much is on my mind. I came in here after my daughter, but everything keeps getting weirder and weirder. Weirder than the time that Wailord swallowed me for lunch.”

Melony’s eyes dipped down to Peony’s hot chocolate in a flash, then back up to his eyes. “Really? Tell me  _ all _ about it.”

Peony’s eyes were still inside his mug, and he rested his head in his hands. “First off, a **Dusknoir** told me that I was dead. Then I met Galar’s current champion, but it’s not actually him, and he has a castle and Charmander everywhere, and he had a husband made outta bones!”—his voice became more aggressive—”And then that ultra-mega **_stupid_** Dusknoir came back to bother me, then I jumped in a river, ended up on a beach and got ambushed by a gang of Sandygast! I saw Kabu, but _that_ wasn’t Kabu either!”—his voice became even more aggressive—” **He tried to kill me! He even called me this terrible name people used to call me as a kid! And did I mention my old gang leader was there too? Now I’m stuck here, dunno what to do, AND HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I AM OR WHERE I’M GOING!”**

Melony’s smile didn’t fade or falter. She didn’t even flinch at Peony raising his voice. Her eyes dipped down to Peony’s mug of hot chocolate again. “That sounds really rough, hun. You know what would really help calm your nerves? Hot chocolate! So, drink up, and you can take a little rest in the bedroom to clear your mind!”

Peony sighed. “I can’t do that, Melony. I can’t stop until I find my daughter. Or at least until I know what the heck’s goin’ on. I feel like I’m losin’ my mind! How are  _ you  _ keepin’ it cool with your son bein’ lost?”

Melony smiled and cocked her head to the side. “Families have disagreements every now and then. You know how it is! If I don’t find him, he’ll find me!”

Peony sighed again, then rested his head on his hand. “I don’t even know where  **I** am…How is Nia supposed to find me?”

Melony reached across the table and nudged Peony’s mug toward him. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it! In the meantime, you just need to let go. Relaxation is the best remedy for stress. Don’tcha think?”

“Maybe it is for  _ you. _ But for me? NOPE. I couldn’t remember where I put my car keys when I traveled to Sinnoh, and didn’t sleep for the  **entire trip!”**

“Have you ever  _ tried _ relaxing?” Melony asked with her unwavering smile.

“Let’s try it.” Peony sat still and stared at Melony for a whole 4 and a half seconds. “It’s not working.”

Melony pointed to the mug in front of the man. “Drink.”

Peony’s eyes dipped back down to the brown liquid. He took a sniff, and the following facial expression indicated that he wasn’t pleased. “What’d you put in it?”

“It’s just regular hot chocolate!” Melony said with her shining smile. “Made with a mother's love!”

Peony took another whiff of the hot chocolate, and it triggered the same reaction. “No offense, Melony. Yer sweet ‘nd all, but this smells like ultra-mega garbage. Where’s the rich Milcery chocolate? The whipped Alcremie cream? The soft Slurpuff’d marshmallows?”

Melony’s eye twitched. “My...apologies...Peony…”

Peony abruptly rose from his chair. “I can’t sit around here anymore. Let’s go so we can find the kids. If I don’t find Nia soon, I’m gonna lose it!”

Melony’s eyes followed Peony as he exited the house. But she didn’t say a word.

* * *

  
  


They were back on the endless tundra of snow. Melony whipped and wriggled the reins, guiding the Walrein down a tedious, yet senseless path. There were no trees. No rocks. No indication of what direction they were headed. So why was Melony even guiding the Pokemon?

Peony sat behind her with a hand on his forehead. He tried his very best to calm himself. “Everything’ll be fine.” he reassured himself. “Nia’s okay, and yer gonna get outta here. Yeah…” He forced his signature smile across his face and pushed all negative energy into the back of his head.

The Walrein sleigh abruptly came to a screeching halt, and both Melony and Peony were sent flying forward.

“What was  _ that  _ for?!” Peony said as he picked himself up.

His question was answered when he looked straight ahead. A tall wall of ice blocked their path. Just...an enormous wall, smack dab in the middle of their  _ path. _ It was too high to go over, too wide to go around, and too thick to go through. But there was something else about the wall. There was text etched into a portion of the wall at just the right height for Peony to read.

Peony hopped out the sleigh and trudged over to the wall. “What are you willing to give,” he read, “for you and yours to live? A drop of liquid life? As red as fruit when ripe? Smear it on the text, to see what comes next.”

“Sounds like a riddle…’ Melony said, suddenly right beside Peony. “I’ve never been the one for solving riddles. They’re so confusing!”

“I like ‘em!” Peony yipped. “It’s  **so** satisfying when you finally solve ‘em!”

Melony glanced at the text again. “What are you willing to give...for you and yours to live? Doesn’t that sound a bit morbid to you?”

“Nah, it said somethin’ about fruit.” Peony said, completely disregarding Melony’s point. “Oh! What if...we need to find some fruit...and smear it on the writing...”

Melony’s face made it obvious that she wasn’t down with that plan. “I dunno, Peony. A drop of liquid life? That doesn’t sound like an apple.”

“What about water?  _ Everything _ needs water to live! And apples are a pretty juicy fruit. Well, some are. I had this  _ really _ dry apple once...Now that I think about it, that might’ve been piece of a Flapple…”

Melony’s disinterested facial expression intensified. “Water isn’t red, Peony. It needs to be red liquid.”

Peony pondered. And he was pondering  _ hard. _ “Is red food coloring cheating?”

Melony stared at Peony with a look only a disappointed mother could give. “Peony, sweetie. I think it means blood.”

“I had an inkling it might’ve been that, but I didn’t wanna go there…a bit morbid, don’tcha think?” 

Melony’s disappointment was on full display.

Peony stood there awkwardly, waiting for Melony to add more to her answer. “So...where’re we gonna get blood from?”

Melony shook her head. “Just prick your finger or something.”

Peony rolled his eyes. “And  _ that’s _ why I hoped it was just water! The stress of today has already been enough, but...if I have to.” Peony puffed his chest out like a Pidgey asserting dominance.  **“FOR MY NIIIAAAAA!”**

Peony took off his glove then chewed on his exposed thumb like a wild Beartic. His eyes squeezed shut, obviously feeling the pain of his teeth sinking into his skin for  _ liquid life. _ Thankfully, the pain was over quickly, and a drop of red leaked out of his fifth finger. Like the riddle suggested, he smeared his wound on the wall.

Then, the world around them began to shake.

“Oh, Arceus, it’s an earthquake!” Peony grabbed a hold—more of a tackle—of Melony. “If this is it, I have a confession!”

“What is it?” Melony asked, all too calm for someone in the midst of a potential avalanche.

“...Nah, I don’t have anything to say. I just wanted to be dramatic before being crushed by ten tons of ice.”

Melony’s eye twitched. Again.

A crack shot up the wall, splitting it in two. Then another two cracks formed. Then four cracks formed, then eight. The wall looked like a shattered mirror, and Peony stared back at his reflection. What he saw in his arms was good, sweet ‘ol Melony. But in the  _ mirror,  _ he could’ve sworn he saw his arms were wrapped around a large, dark gray mass.

Then…

**_CRASH!_ **

A burst of snowflakes blasted Peony and Melony. The blast of flakes roared through the empty tundra, painting it even paler, covering it in more fog. It took a moment for the blast to settle, but when it did, the Ice-Steel duo looked like Galarian Darmanitan.

Peony brought his arm down his face like a windshield wiper, still not feeling the cold of the snow. “That solved it! Teamwork!” Peony held his hand up for a high-five.

But Melony completely ignored it. “Let’s just go…”

Peony expected a more animated reaction out of Melony, and that was  _ not _ what he got in return. He gave her a pained, Baby-Doll Eyed look, then took his seat back in the sleigh. Melony took the reins of her Walrein, and they were back on the move.

* * *

The ride was quiet and awkward. There was some sort of tension in the air, and it wasn’t just the thickening fog. Peony sensed something wrong with Melony. She stared ahead, silently steering the Walrein across the snowy fields of nowhere. No friendly conversation. No banter of friendly nothings. Just...silence.

Any other time, silence would be calming. But now, Peony needed any and everything to suppress his anxiety. He thought of all the fun things he and Nia still had planned for their trip. And they would soon be reunited so they could enjoy it. Happy thoughts, happy mind, happy Peony.

“Another wall?” Melony finally spoke.

Peony looked up, and there was indeed another wall. “Wow, I wonder who made these walls?” he said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Who cares?” Melony chuffed and rolled her eyes.

And it kinda hurt Peony’s feelings. “Uh...everything okay there, Mel?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine, why?” she said like everything  _ was _ fine.

Peony’s gaze narrowed. “Just checkin’ on ya…”

Both of them walked up to the icy wall, and of course, there was another riddle etched into the ice.

Peony took the honor of reading it again. “What are you willing to give, for you and yours to live?”

“There goes that line again!” Melony noted out loud.

Peony ignored it and continued reading. “Thunder, Fire, Shadow, and Ice. You do this thing when you’re not feeling nice. When you’re mad at your dad, or scolded by your...mother?” Peony squinted at the text to make sure he was processing it correctly. “Or when you’re fed up with everyone comparing you to...your  _ brother?” _

“Sounds like a doozy…” Melony stated.

Peony was focused on that last sentence. This riddle seemed a little too specific. “You don’t have any brothers...do ya, Mel?”

“Nope.” she said with the shake of her head. “I have a sister and that’s it.”

Peony tried rubbing his wounded thumb on the text, but nothing happened. “This riddle is...odd.”

“What makes you say that?” Melony got uncomfortably close to Peony. “You have a brother don’t you? Maybe this is just the puzzle you, hm?”

“Yeah, but…” Peony felt his steel trap open and what fell out was an image that instantly triggered anxiety. “Alright, this whole experience officially tops getting eaten by a Wailord.”

“So, it  _ is  _ a riddle for you?” Melony snidely asked. “Then go on...solve it…”

Mad at your dad. Scolded by your mother. Fed up with everyone comparing you to your brother. Peony’s fist instinctively balled up. “Ya know what? I doubt the kids are way out here. Let’s turn back.”

Melony chuckled. “Quit making excuses and solve the riddle. Don’t you want to find your daughter? Or are you incapable of doing that too?”

Peony’s fist started shaking. “...What did you say...?”

Melony’s eyes bowled around her head. “You heard me. Maybe if you were more like  _ Rose, _ we’d be out of here already.”

Mad at your dad. Comparing you to your brother. “You know how I feel about that…”

“Then you should at least  **try** to do better.” Melony spat.

Scolded by your mother. Comparing you to your brother. “...How could you say that to me…after I opened up to you...”

“Will you quit your whining and use your head already! You IDIOT!”

Comparing you to your brother. Comparing you to your brother. Comparing you to your brother.

Peony pulled his arm back and crashed his fist into the wall with all of his force. The grand wall of ice shattered more like an autumn leaf. The wall exploded in an instant. He stood in place as icy remains flew all around him, seething with rage that had been dormant for decades. His head  _ actually  _ radiated heat, melting the snow shards into steam as they came in contact with him.

“Good job!” Melony clapped, and her tone was back to her usual up-and-up.

Peony didn’t hear a word. Not a word. The only sound he could hear was the rhythmic beating of the vein on his forehead. “Just shut up and drive, Melony.”

Peony hopped back into the sleigh and sealed his mouth and ears shut. It was then that he began to feel the frigid breeze of the glacial plains. It was cold. It was very, very cold.

* * *

Neither Melony nor Peony spoke. There was nothing to say. There was no room for friendly conversation or banterous nothings anymore. The air was filled with anger. Sorrow. Anxiety. Discomfort. And pain.

Peony was lost, physically and mentally, and everything around him was  _ literally  _ a haze. Thick fog. Tall mountains. Thick fog. Tall mountains. That’s all he could make out.

The sleigh came to a sudden stop yet again. Through the fog, a crater, the size of 100 Gigantamax Snorlax, could be seen. From the sleigh, it looked like a dark mass. But the hollow feeling of the air made it clear that this was a hole. And the bottom of it was nowhere near the surface. 

Melony hopped out of the sleigh this time, and walked toward the crater.

“Hey!” Peony barked to Melony. “What’re ya doin’?! Don’t ya see that giant ditch there?!”

Melony stopped, just at the edge of the crater. She knelt down and started...reading something? “What are you willing to give, for you and yours to live?”

There was that line for the third time. Melony was right. It was a morbid line. And it rubbed Peony all the wrong ways.

She continued. “Would you take a leap of faith? Or dare I say  _ fate?” _

Peony was paying close attention now.

Melony’s voice seemed to become deeper and more distorted as she talked on. “Leave behind the life you made, so I can take you to the gate?”

“The gate…” Peony muttered. “Melony, what are you talking about?!” he jumped out of the sleigh and marched up to Melony. “Yer actin’ just as weird as all the other ultra-mega crazy things I’ve encountered! What’s up?! What’s goin’ on,  **tell me!”**

With her back still turned, Melony giggled in the deep, familiar voice. “You have my praises, Peony. You have such a special soul. If it wasn’t my job to escort you to the afterlife, I’d just eat it myself. So bright. So strong. So...delicious…”

**“What’s goin’ on with you?!”** Peony grabbed Melony’s shoulder and shook it.  **“You’re not Melony! You** **_can’t_ ** **be Melony! Melony was one of the sweetest souls in the world! And she knew how to make hot chocolate! WHO ARE YOU?!”**

Peony forcefully turned  _ Melony _ around, and what he saw, or didn’t see, made him take a step back. Her eyes. The vivid blue shade of a winter lake was no longer there. Instead, there was nothing. Pure white eyeballs from the center to the outside.

“What are you willing to give…” the deep voice came from Melony. “Tell me, Peony…”

The way she looked. The way she spoke. Peony felt like he was under the heavy Hypnosis of a Gengar. “Me...Melony…”

A faint red and yellow light sparked in Melony’s left eye. “Give it to me…”

“Oh, no…” Realization suddenly striking Peony. “No, no, no no  **no, NO!”**

A large gray hand bursted out of Melony’s chest and wrapped around Peony’s throat. “If you won’t drop dead,” Melony’s morphing body said, “then I’ll  **_make_ ** you drop dead!”

Peony struggled against the hand. He elbowed the hand. Punched the hand. Even tried his hidden technique of biting. But the grip the hand had around his neck was locked in place. 

The hand tossed Peony’s body into the air like a child’s long lost Banette. As he flipped and rolled through the air, he caught a glimpse of Melony. Round gray body. Wicked mouth maw. A glowing red and yellow eye. That wasn’t Melony. That was never Melony at all.

It was Dusknoir. It was  **all** Dusknoir.


	5. Wilted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peony faces one final trial before moving on to the next part of his “life”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a challenge to write, but I think I got something good! There were soooo many directions I could’ve taken it, but I settled with this.

He was submerged in an empty void where no light had ever touched. Somehow, the temperature had dropped even more. He couldn’t see anything, but he could feel his body shivering. He didn’t know if it was because of the cold that enveloped his body, or the fear that came with uncertainty.

He coughed. A sickly, phlegmy cough that bounced off of walls that sounded close by. “Where...am I now…?”

He attempted to lift his head, but he physically couldn’t. He tried moving his arms. He couldn’t do that either. Same with his legs.

“You’re somewhere safe, P.”

That voice. That nickname. That nonchalant tone. All sent an even chillier chill down Peony’s spine.

A small glow of light appeared just within Peony’s line of controlled vision. He saw a silhouette through the thickest layer of fog he had seen yet. The silhouette came walking toward him at a Slowpoke’s pace. With each step, there was a **_click_ **that sounded like the heels of formal shoes, echoing just like Peony’s cough.

The closer the figure came, the more their features became clear. This man looked _very_ similar to Peony. If it weren’t for the lighter complexion, altered beard, rounder build, and wavy strand that rolled off the side of his head, some would even say they’d be identical.

“Rose…” Peony said, followed by a cough. “...Of course...it’s you…”

A smile appeared on Rose’s face. With him, it was hard to tell if it was of joy or of malice. “It’s been a long time since we last spoke, hasn’t it?”

“And why’s...that?” Peony struggled to spit, knowing good and well the answer to his own question.

Rose chuckled. With the snap of his finger, the small glow of light expanded, illuminating the entire area. There was nothing around the two brothers except fog that not even a chainsaw could cut through. 

Peony tried to get up once more, but he now saw his neck, arms, and legs were chained down to a bed with a headboard that resembled the head of a Cofagrigus.

Rose shook his head, but that smile didn’t fade. “I want you to tell me, P. I want _you_ to tell me why we haven’t talked.”

Peony went to answer, and he was almost interrupted by his sickly cough. “You...know why…”

Rose carelessly strolled to the side of Peony’s bed and kneeled so they were face-to-face. His smile was still there. “Then why won’t you say it?”

“Because there’s no point in—” Peony was cut off yet again by a coughing fit.

Rose chuckled again. His thoughts and intentions were still a mystery, but it was obvious that nothing good would come of them. “Do you want to play a game, P?”

“...Wha…?” Peony stammered.

“Do. You. Want. To. Play. A. Game?” Rose stressed each word.

“A game...at a time and a place”—and Peony coughed again—”...like...this?”

Rose’s smile changed. **_This_ ** was the smile Peony knew. Rose’s signature smile that was so smug, so _arrogant,_ so **_disrespectful,_ **Peony wanted to physically claw it off every time he saw it. “Yes, right now.”

Peony tried to raise his head, only for it to be stopped by chains yet again. “Why are you doin’ this…? And wipe that stupid smile off your face before—” then he was coughing again.

“I’m just playing a game with you.” Rose shifted his head to the side. “That’s just what brothers do, right? We love each other. We spend time with each other. We **support** each other.”

Peony’s face fell into a blood-boiled frown. “That’s rich, comin’ from **you** of all people. Mr. One-Up. Mr. I’m-So-Good-At-Everything. Mr. I-Can’t-Beat-You-So-I’ll-Own-You-Instead. You’re”—he was interrupted by another coughing fit—”in...sane!”

Rose rolled his eyes, but that smug smirk never left his face. “Let’s start the game, shall we?” Rose readjusted himself so he was sitting on his butt with his legs crossed. “I’m gonna ask you some questions, and you’re gonna answer. Simple enough, right?”

“I’m not playin’ yer—” Cough.

So Rose continued. “What was the first Pokemon that _we_ caught?”

Peony stared daggers at Rose. “...Cufant…”

“Correct.” Rose hummed. “And...where _is_ that Cufant now? I don’t remember it being in _my_ care.”

“I...”—Peony suppressed a cough—“took it…”

“Correct again.” Rose said, then played with his droopy strand of hair. “Wasn’t that nice of me to give you **our—”**

“Now hold it.” Peony’s halted him. “The only reason I kept”—cough cough—“...it is because you found...a bigger one…”

“But yours had _prettier eyes._ Remember?”

Rose snapped his finger again. The faint sound of children playing echoed through the cave. They sounded so far away, but at the same time, the area felt so cramped. Regardless, they couldn’t be seen through the 50 layers of fog.

“Look at how big my Cufant is!” said one child’s voice.

“But mine has ultra-mega prettier eyes!” said another child.

“Nu-uh!” the first child interjected. “Their eyes are the same. See?”

“If yers can be bigger, mine can have prettier eyes!” the second child argued.

“But mine _is_ bigger!” the first child protested. “Their eyes are the same! Look!” the child suddenly gasped in horror. “Did you just poke my Cufant in the eye?! I’m telling mum on you!”

“Hey!” the children’s voices began to fade into the invisible distance. “It was an accident, I swear...”

The voices gradually faded into the fog. Rose stared down at Peony, still with that smirk of smugness. And Peony stared back at him, eyes weak, but full of fire.

“What...was the point of that…?” Peony wheezed out. “You got yer stupid Cufant so **WHAT’S THE—”** And, coughing fit.

“Next question.” Rose flicked his hair to the side. “Who protected you?”

“...Protected me?”

“Protected you.” Rose restated sternly.

“...From what…”

“Everything.” Rose made sure he was as clear as crystal.

Peony laughed weakly. “Ya think you _protected_ me? Don’t make me”—he stammered over a cough—“laugh. You treated the worst out of **everyone.”**

Rose’s smirk was losing its strength, but he flexed his facial muscles to hold it in place. “Ungrateful. But what should I expect from a person like _you.”_

Peony took **full** offense. “Then what does that make you, Ro? If I’m ungrateful, **WHAT DOES THAT MAKE—“** Peony choked on his wet, mucousy throat.

Rose clapped his hands twice, and the voices of children once again bellowed from the fog. These children sounded much older than the two who caught the Cufant.

“Aww, it looks like the weak little flower’s gonna cry!” One voice said.

“What’s the matter, little flower?” said another. “I thought flowers _liked_ dirt?”

“Leave me alone…” said a crying voice. “LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“ACK!” the first voice yelped. “He punched me in the nose!”

“Oh, my goodness, you’re bleeding!” the second voice cried out.

“And if you don’t leave me now, I’ll do more than make you **bleed.”** the crying child threatened.

“He’s crazy!” Both children cried. Then their voices faded away into the fog.

The crying child broke down and wept even harder. “I’m not...crazy…”

“I saw the whole thing, P.” a fourth, friendlier child said. “Maybe the weak little flower is finally growing some thorns.”

And just like before, their voices faded.

A tear rolled down Peony’s face. He couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. “See...you were just as bad as them…”

Rose shook his head. “I like to think of myself as a cheerleader. If I didn’t cheer you on, you wouldn’t—“

**“THAT’S A LOAD OF—”** Aaaand, Peony was coughing again.

“Should we move on to the next question?” Rose said with a tired sigh.

“Go jump off a mountain.” Peony wheezed.

The insult didn’t phase Rose one bit. “Why’d you leave?”

Peony turned his head away from Rose. As much as the chains would allow him.

“Do I need to repeat myself? You were never very good at following directions.”

Another tear rolled out of Peony’s eyes, but he kept his head turned away.

“Look at me.” Rose’s voice was stern and commanding.

That tone still made Peony flinch. Even in his middle-age. But he refused to turn. He didn’t want to play Rose’s game anymore. But somehow, just like when they were kids, teenagers, young adults, he **always** ended up playing Rose’s game.

“I said look at me.” Rose didn’t raise his voice at all, but he didn’t need to. Rose knew how to get what he wanted, **when** he wanted. And it worked every time.

But Peony wasn’t giving in this time. “This isn’t real…” he whispered to himself. “None of this is real…What’s going on…”

“Have you finally gone insane, P?” Rose chuckled arrogantly. “If this isn’t real, then what is it? How did you touch the water? How did you feel Kabu kick you in the face? How are you cold? How are you coughing?”

Peony struggled against the chains. **“I don’t know! I dunno what’s goin’ on! I dunno where I am, or why yer here, I dunno anything!”** His tear ducts finally let go. **“GET THESE CHAINS OFFA—“** Peony couldn’t control the whooping cough that cut his statement short.

And what did Rose do? Nothing. He kept his fake smile of arrogance plastered across his face and did nothing. “Play my game, and I’ll let you free. All you have to do is answer the questions, and I promise...it’ll all be over…”

Peony’s head was going in circles. He could no longer focus on Nia. He could no longer focus on getting out. He physically felt his mind slipping away. Slipping into the fog that surrounded him. The fog that swallowed the world around him, leaving him stuck with the one person he never wanted to see again.

Peony slowly turned his head back toward Rose and looked him in his cold, apathetic eyes.

“Are you going to play now?” Rose asked, his voice flat and devoid of any sympathy.

Peony managed to crack a smile. A smile that he learned from the same man he was staring at. “I told you already…” he said weakly. “Go...jump off... **A MOUNTAIN!”**

That was it. That was the breaking point for Rose. He could no longer hold the smile on his face. He could no longer keep playing the game that _he_ suggested playing. When Rose loses his patience, he can’t hide the thorns that fit his name so perfectly.

“How are you even related to me?” Rose asked with no intention of getting a real answer. “You wasted your **whole** life trying to _prove_ your something special, and what do you have to show for it? You quit the league, your daughter wants nothing to do with you, and even when I **_TRY_ ** to be a good brother to you, you push me away. Did your wife know how much of a **failure** you were before she died? Is _that_ why she stayed and put up with you?”

**“DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY WI—“** Rose clasped his entire hand over his younger brother’s mouth to shut him up.

“Shut up. You’ve wasted enough of my time.” Rose snapped his fingers three times.

The voices from the fog became a loud, frantic roar in all directions. Peony couldn’t make out what they were saying, or even whose voice was who. But when a new wave of silhouettes appeared, the tears waterfalled from his eyes.

The first person through the fog had fair skin and dark blonde hair. She had a look in her hazel eyes that looked like a cry for help. It was his wife. His deceased wife. 

“Honey...” she said in a tone that would haunt Peony for several lifetimes. “Please...just listen to your brother, honey...We’ll be together again…Please, honey, just listen and you won’t get hurt!”

Peony called out to his wife at the top of his lungs, but his calls were muted by the callus skin of his brother’s palm. Rose even dug his nails into Peony’s cheek just to pull an extra pained shriek out of him.

The next person to walk out of the fog was none other than the one who started this journey of pure insanity. Puffy platinum blonde curls with pink tips, light brown skin, soft green eyes that matched both Rose and Peony’s. It was his darlin’ daughter, Nia.

Nia didn’t even look her father in the eye. She kept her head down, giving all of her attention to her phone. “Dad...whatever Uncle Rose said, just listen…”

Peony flailed under his chains, trying to break free from his bonds. Rose kept his palm over Peony’s mouth, squeezing even harder than before, tearing the skin around his mouth.

The last people to walk out of the fog were Kabu, Melony, Leon, and Guzma.

“Why’d you leave us, Peony?” Melony asked.

“You had fire in your heart!” Kabu scolded. “You could’ve been the best of the best, but you threw it all away!”

Leon chuckled. “Sucks to be you, huh? _I’m_ the champion of Galar now, and I’m better than you in every way!”

“Couldn’t fight your way outta this one, huh?” Guzma snickered. “Shame. You used to be as wild as they get.”

“Isn’t this lovely?!” Rose laughed with a grin of instability. “Everybody showed up for **your** funeral! But there’s one special someone who isn’t here yet! Without him, **NONE** of this would be possible! Can you guess who it is?!”

A mix of sweat, tears, snot, and blood all rolled out from under Rose’s hand as Peony screamed, shouted, and shrieked into the palm of his brother.

In that moment, Rose’s scleras were pitch black. His irises were glowing goldenrod. And his pupils were as red as ruby. “Speak up, you fool! We can’t hear you!”

Peony thrashed against his chains with all of the power he could muster in his current state. But it didn’t work. He couldn’t work his way out of this one. This wasn’t climbing a mountain and getting attacked by a Pokemon. This wasn’t getting lost in a cave and having to use a boulder as a pillow. This wasn’t even getting eaten by a Wailord. This was a dead end. In every way imaginable.

“I’ll give you one last chance to guess,” Rose spoke in the familiar demonic voice, “and you better make it a good one.”

_Rose finally_ removed his hand from his younger brother’s face. Peony gasped for air, but none was coming in. “Stop...please…” he cried out of his weak windpipe.

Rose shook his head. “Wrong answer.” The fist of a Dusknoir punched out of Rose’s jaw, dislocating it completely. Then, another arm jabbed out right beside it. Both arms grabbed each side of Rose’s stretched head, then peeled his entire body apart. What emerged from his remains, was the Pokemon that _made all of this possible._

“Look around, Peony!” Dusknoir cackled. “Look at all your friends! Your family!” Dusknoir pointed down at the mutilated husk below him. “Your brother! Don’t you want to at least tell them goodbye before our little trip, hm? Go ahead! You have my **full** permission!”

Peony physically couldn’t move any part of his body other than his eyes. First, he looked at his daughter, Nia. She was still on her phone, completely uninterested in her father literally being tortured. Right next to her was her mother, Peony’s widowed wife. One of her eyeballs was hanging out of its socket like a zombie, but at least she looked concerned. Right beside her, was Guzma, shaking his head as if he was ashamed of Peony. On the other side of him stood Kabu, Melony, and Leon. Melony sobbed silently into her hands. The fire in Kabu’s eyes was extinguished by sorrow. And Leon...was flexing for some reason.

“Have you nothing to say?!” Dusknoir picked up Rose’s remains and shoved them in Peony’s face. “Not even your brother?! Your _sweet, sweet_ **brother?!”**

The fog started thickening again, swallowing all of the people from Rose’s life. He could no longer feel air going into his lungs. Every time he breathed in, it was like breathing dry water. His eyes felt heavy, fluttering open, then closed. Open, then closed again. The weight of his body was phasing in and out as well. But the last time his eyes closed...he saw nothing. He felt nothing. He _was_ nothing.

Dusknoir had won this battle.

* * *

  
  


“Get up…”

He couldn’t feel his body, that is, if he even had one anymore.

“Get...up…”

Nothing could describe his field of vision. Literally, nothing.

“Get up.”

Wherever he was now, any window of getting himself out had closed.

“Get up!”

Like a Banette controlled by strings, Peony’s eyes opened at the command.

Looming over him, Dusknoir’s belly mouth cracked a sinister smile. “Good...your soul is still functioning. I thought I might’ve shattered your psyche back there.”

Peony still felt...nothing. His eyes were open. He was looking forward. But didn’t feel the ground under him. He couldn’t move his limbs because he didn’t _feel_ them. He couldn’t speak because he had nothing to physically produce the words.

“You may speak.” Dusknoir said.

Magically, at the Gripper Pokemon’s command, Peony felt a mouth below his eyes. “...Where am I?” Peony asked in monotone.

“I’m glad you asked.” Dusknoir said giddily. “You may move.”

Feeling was returned back to Peony’s entire body in an instant, and he was standing on his two feet. He was weak, but he could move. _Actually_ move, no longer bound by cold metal chains. What he saw, just a short distance away from him, linked by a short path of obsidian stones, was a chain-link fence. It was old, rusty, withered, and obviously hadn’t been cleaned since it was put up.

“Welcome to…” Dusknoir flourished his hands toward the fence. **“THE GATES!”**

Despite being weak, in pain, and scarred for eons, Peony was dumbfounded. Astonished. Stupefied, by what he was looking at. “This…” Peony stuttered. “This is it…? **AN OLD, RAGGEDY FENCE?!”**

“What? You expected some golden staircase or something?” Dusknoir laughed. “You’re **dead!**...And we’re on a budget…”

A chain-link fence. Peony went through torture, no, _worse_ than torture, and this is how it ends? A rusty fence? “The **very** least you could do is offer me a glass of water after what **you did!”** Peony plopped down on his butt. “I want a do-over.” he demanded.

“A _do-over?”_ Dusknoir gave Peony a taunting giggle. “How many times must I reiterate... **YOU ARE DEAD!”**

“I don’t care!” Peony barked. “If you can make an entire world of my worst memories just to weaken my soul or whatever, you can gimme a do-over! **So gimme a do-over!”**

Dusknoir let a sigh loose from his belly mouth. “Would you _give up,_ already?! We’re at the end! The conclusion! The wrap-up of the story! All that’s left to do is walk across that gate, and you’ll be transported to either the skies of Spear Pillar, or the depths of the Distortion World.”

**“I’M NOT GOIN’ NEAR THAT FENCE!”** Peony shouted with the last bit of fight left in him.

“Yes, you are.” Dusknoir's eye pulsed with a deep red glow.

Peony felt all feeling from his body vanish once again. The only part of his body he could feel and control were his eyes. He watched himself moving closer toward the gate, but entirely against his own will. Dusknoir held the reins to what remained of Peony now.

“Step. Step. Step.” Dusknoir said each time Peony’s feet paced toward the entrance to his new existence, laughing all the while.

Just when a sliver of hope had returned to Peony, it was snatched away like a Mandibuzz plucking an Ekans from a patch of grass. **This** was it. Peony had no control over his body. He couldn’t even speak. He couldn’t even really think, other than thoughts related to his immediate surroundings. Fear. It was fear. Fear was the only thought of his immediate surroundings. And the closer he came to the gate, the more that fear drove into him like a hot knife.

Dusknoir cackled like a supervillain who had finally conquered the world. **“Goodbye, you pathetic little flower! Enjoy your eternity away from ME!”**

He was one step away. The last step of his existence as he knew it. And how did he spend the day? Searching for his daughter, only to _literally_ fall down a Scorbunny hole of madness, buried memories, and senseless torment. Tears squeezed out of his eyes as he closed them shut, refusing to witness what was next to come. 

He wasn’t ready to go. There were so many loose ends that would remain untied. Who would take care of his Pokemon? What would happen to all of his personal belongings? Did he leave the sink running again? But most importantly...Nia. Is she safe? Did she fall in the caves as well? Peony would never know. He needed an answer. His final thought couldn’t be wondering whether or not his daughter would come following in her parent’s footsteps in the worst way.

But then...he crossed to the other side of the gate.

…

…

…

And nothing happened.

**“WHAAAAT?!”** Dusknoir exploded like one million Electrode. **“HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?!”**

Peony peeked one eye open. He was standing in a void of nothing, but whatever was supposed to happen, didn’t happen.

**“WHY WON’T YOU JUST DISAPPEAR?! YOUR SOUL SHOULD BE A SHRIVELED UP** **_HUSK_ ** **RIGHT NOW! I USED EVERY MALICIOUS MEMORY I COULD THINK OFF TO BREAK YOU DOWN, AND THEN SOME! SHOULD I MURDER YOUR DAUGHTER IN FRONT OF YOU?! BEHEAD KABU AND WEAR HIS REMAINS LIKE A HAZMAT SUIT?! OH, OH, HOW ABOUT I FEED YOU YOUR WIFE’S INTERNAL ORGANS?! WOULD THAT WORK?! WOULD IT?! HUH?!** **_HUH?!”_ **

Dusknoir had lost it, and Peony’s body was still in a stasis. He couldn’t respond, but he listened. That was all he _could_ do.

**“YOU KNOW WHAT?! FORGET IT! I’M DONE! I** ** _QUIT!_** **I’D RATHER DEAL WITH A MOUNTAIN OF PAPERWORK THAN DEAL WITH** ** _YOU_** **FOR ONE MORE SECOND! I DON’T EVEN WANT TO EAT YOUR SOUL ANYMORE! YOU’D PROBABLY GIVE ME INDIGESTION FROM BEING** ** _STUPID!”_** Dusknoir stretched his arms as far apart as he could. **“ARCEUS ABOVE, GIRATINA BELOW! I APOLOGIZE FOR FAILING MY JOB AS A TRUSTED DUSKNOIR...BUT I NEED THIS MAN OUT OF MY LIFE!”**

Dusknoir brought his hands together, and a thunderous **_CLAP_ ** boomed through the area. A typhoon of white smokiness came rolling through. It wasn’t as deep, heavy, or murky as the fog that plagued Peony’s journey to gates. It was softer, lighter, mystifying even, like a Pokemon activating its Misty Surge.

**“I HOPE OUR PATHS NEVER CROSS AGAIN, YOU ULTRA-MEGA STUPID IDIOT DUMWAD WITH EXTRA CHEESE!”**

The explosive shouts of the devious Dusknoir faded, and the magical mist swallowed Peony whole. His entire life, from his first memory of writing all over his living room wall, to the very spot he stood in, came to him in seconds. And he saw all of it. Down to the millisecond.

Everything went dark. Which he was used to by now.

* * *

  
  


“S...ir…”

She sounded light years away. He couldn’t make out the tone of voice. He couldn’t make out what the voice was saying. He couldn’t put a face on it. He just knew the voice was there.

“...Sir…”

_Sir._ The voice was saying _sir._ It wasn’t his daughter. That eliminated one person.

“Sir...are y...kay?”

That sounded like a question. But all he made out was _sir_ and _are._

“Sir, get...up...lease…”

Sir. Get. Up...Sleaze?

“He’s breathing again!”

“I’m breathing again.” Peony said like he was answering a question. He sat up like nothing had happened. 

The scientist from the entrance of the Max Lair was kneeling over him. “Oh, thank goodness you’re awake! I was NOT looking forward to all that paperwork.”

He looked up. He looked down. He looked to the side. There were rocks and craters all around him. He was where he was last before he blacked out. “Man...she’s not here either! She used to love hidin’ behind rocks when she was just a little thing.”

“I’m guessing you mean your daughter...?”

“Yeah!” Peony said with his signature grin. “Also, why are you hoverin’ over me? What’s goin’ on?”

The scientist sighed. “Sir, you tripped on a rock. I thought you were dead.”

Peony stared at the scientist like she was speaking a different language. “Yer jokin’...”

The scientist denied the claim with a head shake. “Sir, we have very strict safety guidelines, and you’ve violated every single one. **Every single one!** Including our no food policy! **Why is there curry in your coat?!”**

“Ya never know when yer gonna need an emergency meal!” Peony harhar’d. “Now, uh...do ya mind draggin’ me back to the entrance? This bag is pretty heavy and I think I twisted my ankle.”

The scientist looked upward and clasped her hands together. “Dear, Arceus, or whoever’s up there. I didn’t have my coffee today. Please lend me the extra strength to deal with this individual. Thanks.”

“Maybe yer not that bad, science lady!” Peony chimed as he was dragged across the cave floor with an endless, ear-grinding scrape. “And try not to move too fast. You might scratch up the boots. I made ‘em myself!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, this was a CHALLENGE! This is the longest chapter, and the one that puts the dark themes at the forefront. I had to be more careful about where I inserted the comedy so I didn’t draw away from the main focus. One chapter to go! (Which should be up now because it’s shorter. DOUBLE UPLOAD!)


	6. The Adven-Tour’s End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peony and Nia try to enjoy the rest of their advent-tour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This...is...IT!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who read my craziness lmao! Especially the regular commenters 😆 You gave me the motivation to make this fic an actual story. Before, it was more of a dump of a passing thought. Alright, enough N O T E. Enjoy the chapter!

In the end, as Peony dubbed, _The Ultra-Mega Father-Daughter Adven-Tour of the Legendary Crown Tundra,_ was a success. Sorta. He didn’t get to explore the area for legendary Pokemon with darlin’ daughter like he had planned. Some kid claiming to be the **_even newer_ ** champion showed up and did it instead. What he _did_ get to do though was battle all kinds of Dynamaxed Pokemon with his Nia. He took extra precaution this time, making sure he didn’t trip on any of the rocks.

“Did ya see me take down that Ultra Beast?!” Peony shouted with joy. “I took that thing **DOWN!”**

Peonia rolled her eyes. “Dad...YOU EARTHQUAKED OUR ENTIRE TEAM! INCLUDING ME!”

“Yeah, I just said **_I_ ** took it down. As in **ME!”**

Peonia, embarrassed, buried her face in her hands. “You’re so lucky we survived...That was _too_ close…”

The father-daughter duo exited the caverns of the Max Lair. The scientist at the entrance gave them their Pokemon back, not before giving Peony a look that was as nasty as a Garbador’s breath.

“Have a nice day.” the scientist said, monotone. “And try not to trip on any more rocks.” She followed it with a sarcastic chuckle.

“Trip on more rocks?” Peonia asked.

“Yeeeaah…” Peony had a nervous smile on his face. “Ya see, when I came in here lookin’ for ya, I tripped on a rock and I guess it knocked me out.”

Peonia shook her head. “This is like the _tenth_ time you’ve injured yourself on a trip!”

“I’m pretty sure he stopped breathing too.” the scientist added. “I thought he was dead for a second.”

“Dead?” Peonia looked to her father. “This guy was stuck in Twist Mountain for a week and survived off of ice and Cubchoo fur. **Nothing** can take my dad out. And even if something can, I’m _positive_ he’d be able to cheat death itself.”

“Actually…” Peony nervously cut in. “That _was_ a pretty nasty fall. I thought people were kidding, but my life really did flash before my eyes. I saw everything. Every moment. I think I even saw more than that. Arceus. Palkia. Dialga. Giratina. The creation of the world as we know it before I entered the endless void of mystery and unknown advances. Only to awaken to the face of that woman” he pointed to the scientist, “over there.”

Peonia rolled her eyes. “Dad, have you been watching those documentaries about legendary Pokemon again?”

“MAYBE!” Peony defended. “They’re really interesting! The other day, I watched this one about how Palkia and Dialga might have been the same Pokemon towards the beginning of time, which would explain that weird statue in Eterna City! I’m gonna book another trip to Sinnoh so we can look into it! Doesn’t that sound _fuuuuuun?!”_

Peonia let out a heavy sigh. “Can we just...get through this trip first…?”

  
  


It was the dead of night, and all of Freezington was still. Except for Peony. Usually this would mean that he was doing research on legendary Pokemon, but no, not tonight. On this night, he was scrolling through old photos on his Rotom phone. Photos from parts of his life that he would consider high points. There was the time Peonia revived her first fossil, which was a Tyrunt. There was the time he explored the Ruins of Alph and was chased by a swarm of Unown. But the picture that stopped him was a picture of him drinking a smoothie in front of the Galar Hurricane.

The picture held no significance from a quick glance. But the story behind the photo was what made it so impactful. The person who took the photo, out of view, was Rose, Peony’s older brother. This was some time after Peony had left the league. Rose was the one who called for them to meet. Sadly, the night ended just like every other time they had a one-on-one. An argument. But that time, there was no coming back from it.

The door to Peonia’s bedroom creaked open. The sight of her dad, who was misty in the eyes, stopped her. “D-Dad?”

Peony looked up with a tear fresh, ready to fall at any moment. “C’mere, Nia…”

Normally, Peonia would try to find any excuse to avoid conversations like these, but this seemed too serious to ignore. She walked to the sofa where Peony sat and took a seat beside him. She saw the photo on his screen and asked, “What’re you looking at now?”

Peony zoomed in on his smiling face. He couldn’t remember if he was smiling because of the Oran Berry Blast smoothie, or if he was happy to be with his brother again. “Just old memories…”

“What’s this supposed to be a picture of?”

Peony swiped to the next photo, and that answered Peonia’s question. It was a picture of Rose with smoothie in his patchy, growing beard. “It was the last time me and your uncle shared a laugh…”

Peonia picked up the vibe of the room quickly, and treaded lightly with the questions. “What made you dig these old things up?”

Peony swiped to the next photo. It was a selfie of him and Rose and their fruity beverages. “I was serious when I said my whole life flashed before my eyes when I took that fall...I saw everything.” He swiped to the next photo, but it was a photo from the day after. The day after they never spoke again. “I know I come off as just a goofy, dumb dad. But I just want you to know...I love you...and you can always count on me to be with you. I know we don’t have your moth—”

“Dad, stop.” Nia put her hand up. “We’ve had this talk before. I don’t want to talk about... _that_ again.”

Peony chuckled, then swiped 10 pictures forward. He stopped on a picture of his Aggron eating a Poke Puff from the Kalos region. “Look at Aggy! Eatin’ his Poke Puff like a good boy! And remember when he _Mega Evolved?!_ That was insane!”

“Yeah, that was a pretty fun trip…”

“Did you just say…” Peony clasped a hand over his mouth. “FUN?!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Peonia dismissed. “Why do you always have to make things weird?”

Peony swiped to the next picture. It was a younger Nia riding on the back of a Skiddo. “I just wanna make as many good memories with you as I can.”

Peonia could tell that this was troubling her dad. She could either go back to bed, or stay up with her father and turn his somewhat successful advent-tour into another entry into his steel vault. “Wanna play a game…? I brought my Switch...”

The way Peony’s eyes lit up, he could’ve blinded his daughter if she hadn’t had her head down. “Yes...Absolutely, **yes!** What game? Is it that one game where you make a town on an island with the Zigzagoon and his nephews?”

Half of Peonia cringed at herself. But the other half was elated at the sight of her giddy father. “Nah, it’s called Pokemon Quest. It’s more of a game you _watch_ than play, but you get to choose which Pokemon are on your team, teach them moves, decorate their little camp, train them, stuff like that.”

“Are there any Aggron in it?” Peony’s first question.

“No, only the first 151 in the National Dex.”

“Oh, so Meowth’s in it?”

“Kantonian only.” Peonia said flatly. “The only Steel types are Magnemite and Magneton.”

“Eh, for all I care I could play as a Muk. As long as I get to spend more time with you.”

“Yeah...spend time with you…” Peonia said, trying her best not to make it _weird._ “I’ll go get my Switch and set it up on the TV, k?”

“K!” Peony said with his million Poke Dollar smile.

Right as Peonia disappeared, Peony’s Rotom phone rang. There was no number displayed. The only identifying information was _Name: Unknown._ The Rotom didn’t even have any predictions as to who it could be. Peony was a curious Purrloin by nature, so of course he answered the call.

“Hello, hello! This is Peony!”

Heavy breathing. Heavy breathing was all he heard.

“Uh...hello? Since when did Snorlax learn how to use phones? Is this a Snorlax?”

“...N...o…” a staticy, distorted voice crackled.

“...Is this a Musharna? Wait, Pokemon can’t talk. Except that talkin’ Meowth, but I swear that thing is, like, half-human.”

“You...idi...ot…”

“But seriously, who’s calling?” Peony looked at the ID again, but it still said Caller: Unknown.

“...Are you...enjoying your...self... **Peony?”** The voice said his name loud, clear, and with no static blocking their connection. The voice was deep, gruff, raspy, intimidating. And it spoke Peony’s name as if he were an old friend.

“So this is someone I know. Richard? Richard from the Battle Cafe? You sound like Richard from the Battle Cafe.”

The voice laughed. “So you really don’t remember me! **Good for you.** It’ll make our next meeting all the more fun! Because of our little encounter, I lost my job!”

“Oh, no!” Peony gasped. “There’s more out there than the Battle Cafe, Rich. I promise!”

**“I’M NOT RICHARD, YOU—“** The voice took a deep breath. “I’m a free agent now, Peony. Which means I’m free to do whatever I want. **Which includes coming after you.”** The voice cackled again. “I’m coming for you, you ultra-mega imbecile. And I’ll be waiting at your doorstep when you least expect it.” The voice belted out one last mad cackle. “Have fun sleeping tonight, **PEONY!”**

The call ended. Peony flickered through his steel vault for the possible people that could’ve made a call like **that.** The only person that came to mind was...Richard from the Battle Cafe.

Peonia returned to the room too just seconds after the call ended. “Uhh...who were you talking to at _this_ time of night?” she asked with her Switch in hand.

Peony stared at his phone’s lock screen. His background was an old selfie of him in his old league uniform, his now deceased wife in the background, and little Nia on his shoulder, both giving a thumbs-up. The time read 4:44am. “Eh, it was probably a prank call. Let’s hurry up and play before the sun comes up!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks for reading!!! I thought I’d give some of my thought process while writing this here (if I can remember since it’s been a month since I got this idea).
> 
> 1\. I got this idea when Peony actually tripped on a rock
> 
> 2\. The fog was supposed to represent the strength of his soul. Since he was determined to find Nia, he couldn’t let himself die. As he went on, he started to slip away and forget what he was doing up until he crossed the gate.
> 
> 3\. Dusknoir was originally supposed to sacrifice himself to save Peony out of guilt, but I felt that that’d be a little out of character for him.
> 
> 4\. I had a no swearing rule. I wanted to write something disturbing without excessive swearing, in my case, none at all.
> 
> 5\. This was questioned a bit in the beginning, but Dusknoir could read Peony’s mind. Peony actively tries not to think about Guzma, which is why Guzma kept questioning him. Peony has spite for Leon taking his title, which is why he didn’t care to remember his name. He saw Kabu as a strong competitor, so they had an actual fight. Melony was always nice to him, so Dusknoir tried to create an illusion of what he saw as kind. And Rose is pretty self explanatory lol. Abusive and manipulative.
> 
> Alright! That’s all I got for now! I kiiiinda wanna do a sequel, but this was a very had piece of prose, especially with the dark tone.
> 
> Anyways, I’m taking another break. I’ll be back when I have another weird idea that I need to get out. But it’ll be a well-constructed idea. Will you see me in the Pokemon tag again??? Most likely! The next thing I post might even be the sequel. Who knows?
> 
> Until then...👋🏾


End file.
